Much to Learn in Nicaragua

Thursday, February 24, 2011
Observations from Steve Launius

We left the hotel at 4:00 a.m. this morning for our flight to Nicaragua.  After arriving and passing through customs, where we each had to pay $10, the team boarded a van for Cusmapa. On the way, we passed rice fields, poultry processing plants, tobacco fields and other agriculture.

The country as a whole is very poor, and we have seen people in extreme poverty.  After the five-hour drive to the mountains, we arrived at the Fabretto Center.  We sat in on a soy nutrition class for mothers using FortiSoy. We also toured the school.

The whole area is very remote and caught in the middle of the civil war from the 1990s.

The highlight of the day was touring the coffee co-op in the area. The coffee farmers spoke to us about farming in the area and organically grown coffee.  They also prepared samples for us to taste.  It was very good!